Prelude
by Quallevra
Summary: X and Zero's first meeting.


**Prelude**

X jumped and dodged through the training course, tracking and shooting the moving targets as he went. He much preferred this to real combat in the field. No one's life was riding on whether he messed up or not. He wondered if it also helped that he was effectively alone, instead of having an audience. There'd been only one other Hunter in the training area when he came in, and that one was busy with his own target practice.

Jumping over another sliding hurdle, X shot the last two targets in rapid succession, finishing the course. The system gave a light chime, indicating a perfect score. Of course. It was so easy when it was just an exercise. Out there, there was so much more that could go wrong…

Stepping away from the course as it retracted, X saw that he had an audience after all. It was the other Hunter, who'd obviously finished his own activity and turned to watch him. He was a red-armored humanoid that X vaguely recognized as a new recruit, and he looked somewhat impressed.

"I'm Zero," he introduced himself without preamble. "I arrived here this morning. Who are you?"

"The name's X."

"Huh. I don't recognize it- or you, come to think of it," Zero commented. "I'd have thought I'd know who you were from the files."

"You spent your first morning here reading through all the personnel files?" X supposed that was one way to get acquainted with your fellow Hunters, if a bit impersonal.

"Just the top-ranked ones. I wanted to know who I'd be working with." That sounded like a bold statement, but this Zero spoke without a trace of smugness, as if merely stating a fact.

"Well, I'm not that high a rank. I'm just a B-Class," X informed him.

Zero looked slightly surprised. "Really? Your performance suggested otherwise. That course was set to the highest difficulty."

X shrugged. "I can do courses. Out there, it's another matter." Zero didn't immediately answer this, and X turned to go. After a couple of seconds, though, Zero spoke after him.

"What happens out there?"

X looked back. It was an understandable question from a new recruit, but there was no sense pretending that the problem was anything but his own. "People can get hurt, or killed, if we don't get it right. Of course, as Hunters, we're supposed to get it right, but I don't always trust that I can. I'm always afraid that I'll screw up, do the wrong thing. That's why I'm only ranked a B," he said baldly.

"But as you said, lives are riding on your performance," Zero pointed out. "The point of being a Hunter is to protect those who can't protect themselves, by eliminating threats, right? In that case, _shouldn't_ you being taking careful thought for whether you're doing it right?"

"Commander Sigma says I think too much. That I should just act, and do the job."

"Maybe you do, but 'just' act doesn't sound quite right, either." Zero considered for a moment. "Is it always that bad? There aren't always innocent people in the line of fire, are there?"

"Not always, but even if not, we don't usually work alone, so there are still the other Hunters."

"But… shouldn't they be able to take care of themselves?"

"Yes, but you never know what might happen, and when they're my companions in the field, I can't just ignore it if they're in danger, or could get hurt…" X sighed. "The Commander's right. I do let myself think too much."

"Maybe," Zero said slowly, "but you have a point. If you're all fighting on the same side, I suppose you should be looking out for one another."

"I'm sure we should, but not everyone seems to agree with how important it is."

"Were you built for this?" Zero asked suddenly. "It's sounding like your attitude doesn't quite mesh with everyone else's."

X shook his head. "No, or at least, I'm not really sure."

Zero looked interested. "How's that?"

X hesitated for a moment, but it wasn't like his origins were really a secret. "I don't know what my creator intended for me. I can fight, and the Mavericks need to be stopped, so maybe this is where I should be, but I don't know for sure. Maybe I'll never know," he added softly.

"Asking isn't an option," Zero surmised.

X shook his head. "He's been dead for a long time."

"But you know who he was?"

"Yes. At least, I know his name and his place in history. But I don't have any way of knowing what he wanted."

"And that bothers you."

"Of course. How can I find my place if I don't know what it's supposed to be?"

Zero looked at him for a moment. "Has it occurred to you that it doesn't matter any more what he planned for you?"

X looked at Zero in surprise. "What do you mean?"

"I know less about myself than you do," Zero informed him. "I don't even know who built me, let alone what for. I don't even know if this person is alive or dead."

"You don't have anything to go on at all?"

Zero shrugged. "Dr. Cain repaired me, and that's the first thing I remember. They said that they found me…" He shook his head. "Well, it doesn't matter. There clearly weren't any clues to my origin. But listen," he added, "there's no sense getting upset about what we'll probably never know. Your creator is dead, and mine definitely isn't in the picture. So what does it matter anymore what either of them intended? Our lives are in our own hands now. I can fight, so I chose to put those skills to work here. You have your reasons as well, apparently."

"Yes," X said slowly, "I do." After all, the whole Reploid race was in some sense his responsibility, and that included any threat it might pose, didn't it? "Maybe you're right," he said softly. "I hadn't thought of it like that. It's just, I'd want to know that Dr. Light was proud, whatever I was doing." Zero didn't immediately answer, and X saw that he was softly mouthing the name to himself, looking pensive. "Have you heard of him?"

"No," Zero said after a moment. "I though for a second that it sounded familiar, but I guess not." He shrugged. "Anyway, if you think you're doing something worthwhile, I'm sure the guy would approve."

A measured beeping resounded through the Hunter base. X looked up. "It's the call for the late afternoon patrol to get ready. I've got to go."

"Hmm. I was about to sign up for a patrol as soon as I was done in here. I hope there's still time to sign up for that one. You can show me the ropes."

X looked at him, slightly surprised. "Me? I told you, I'm just a B-class, not that good in the field."

"I know. It doesn't matter, I don't expect to need looking after or anything." Zero smiled slightly. "But I'm curious to see you in action out there. I wouldn't be surprised if you're better than you think you are."


End file.
